FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT LAND CONTRACT - PAGE 4

Q-My husband and I were just getting ready to start shopping for a home to buy when the mortgage interest rates went up. We were pre-approved for a fixed rate mortgage at 7.25 percent interest. But now we can only qualify for an adjustable rate mortgage. Do you think we should wait to buy a home until interest rates drop? A-No. It's always a good time to buy a home, at the buyer's price and terms. If interest rates should drop in the future, you can then refinance with a fixed rate mortgage.

Q--I would like to warn your readers about the pitfalls of buying a foreclosed home. We told our Realtor we wanted to buy a fixer-upper house, so she showed us a foreclosed home being sold by a major bank. It was boarded up and the utilities were turned off; that made it tough to get a good idea what we were buying. But the asking price was at least $30,000 below comparable nearby houses. When we asked our Realtor about checking the plumbing, wiring, furnace, air conditioning and roof, she assured us not to worry because the lender would take care of any problems.

Q-Please explain which appliances and fixtures are included in a home sale. When we bought our home recently, we thought the light fixtures, drapes, wall-to-wall carpets, water heater and built-in appliances would be automatically included in the sales price. But when we received the keys to the house, the seller had taken all these items with her. The realty agent said we should have listed these things if we wanted them as part of the sales price. A-Your realty agent is giving you wrong information.

Q-I just bought a two-bedroom condominium. The mortgage company made a big deal about obtaining a copy of the insurance policy on the condo building. But I did not receive a copy of that insurance. Are my condo furnishings also covered under that policy? If not, should I buy a renter's insurance policy? A-No. And no. There are two types of condominium insurance policies. One, the condominium owner's association master insurance policy, insures the structure against loss by fire and other hazards.

Q-We plan to sell our home in a few months. But it needs considerable fix-up work, which we want to do before listing the house for sale. A friend told me I can deduct the fix-up costs on my tax returns. But my tax preparer at H&R Block said she never heard of such a law. Does it exist? A-Sort of. You`ll find the home sale tax rule in Internal Revenue Code section 1034(b)(2). But it's not really a tax deduction law. It says you can subtract (not deduct) from your home's gross sales price "expenses for work performed on the old residence in order to assist in its sale."

By Cal McAllister. and A digest of late news reports, compiled by Jerry Crimmins | July 16, 1996

The City Council approved a resolution Monday night providing for 90 days' notice before the city acts to remove any residential properties within its new redevelopment district. The city has announced plans to build a $45 million sports and entertainment arena on a 70-acre site south of Palatine Road and west of Milwaukee Avenue. The neighborhood around the site is dotted with apartment buildings and small businesses. According to the resolution, the city must provide residents there with written notice at least 90 days before the signing of any land-acquisition contract by the city or by a developer in the redevelopment district.

Additional pesticide contamination has been discovered on city-owned land under contract to the U.S. Postal Service, city officials said. The site, in the 200 block of Highwood Avenue, was found earlier to be contaminated with low levels of pesticides and heavy metals, requiring the city to foot the $6,000 to $7,000 bill for rehabilitation of about 30 cubic yards of soil. New discoveries at the site will require the excavation of an additional 250 cubic yards of soil and add $23,000 to the cost, city officials said.

Q--My mother, 74, is in excellent health for her age. She wants to continue living in her house, but doesn't have enough income to meet major expenses, such as property taxes. Her house needs a new roof and some windows are rotted. We both read your report on reverse mortgages and agree this could solve her financial problems. Would she be better off taking a lump sum, credit line or monthly payment reverse mortgage? A--The "big three" reverse mortgage lenders, FHA, Fannie Mae and Transamerica, offer lump sum, credit line and monthly cash advance programs.

A full consulting contract to develop design guidelines for the proposed New Lenox Commons was approved recently by the Village Board. The board approved a preliminary contract with the Lannert Group, the firm that helped develop the town's comprehensive plan and open-space plan, early last month, but it was reluctant to award the full contract until the land-purchase contract for the site of the proposed town center was signed. The $13,000 consulting contract secures the services of the consultants to work on land-use plans for the area south of U.S. Highway 30 and north of the Village Hall on Haven Avenue.

The racketeering and extortion conviction of Thomas Fuller, former president of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, has been upheld by a three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Fuller's lawyers had challenged U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo's decision that the lawyers said excluded them from presenting an entrapment defense, among other things. But the appeals court Tuesday backed Bucklo, saying she didn't foreclose such a defense. Bucklo had the legal authority to require Fuller's lawyers to prove to her there was sufficient evidence to support an entrapment defense before she would allow testimony on the point to the jury, the court held, but Fuller's lawyers never took her up on the offer.